Bankruptcy filings in Stephenson County flat in April, although they remain slightly higher so far in 2013.

In April, there were 21 people or business owners filing for bankruptcy protection, according to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s Northern District of Illinois.

That matched the 21 filings in April 2012. Through the first four months though there have been 74 filings in Stephenson County. There were 71 in the first four months of 2012.

Bankruptcy filings tend to be a lagging economic indicator.

People tend to be able to hold out financially for several months after losing work because of jobless benefits and credit cards.

Stephenson County filings may move higher in the second half of the year then. The county’s jobless rate, after falling as low as 8.6 percent in two different months of 2012, has been above 10 percent the first three months of 2013.